ELF began as a subdivision of the
International Workers Order, growing out of the Emma Lazarus Division of the Women's Division of the
Jewish People's Fraternal Order (JFPO). The Emma Lazarus Division was founded in 1944; ELF become an independent organization in 1951 after the JPFO faced legal action after being accused of being a "subversive" organization by the
New York Attorney General Nathaniel L. Goldstein. The organization's members were primarily Yiddish-speaking leftist women from immigrant backgrounds. ELF provided financial support for the Emma Lazarus Day Nursery in
Tel Aviv. ELF was disestablished in 1989. ==Members==